Twelve Days of Ichigo and Orihime
by jylener22
Summary: Based very loosely upon 'The Twelve Days of Christmas'. Some snippets of what Ichigo and Orihime's life could look like during the Christmas season during their first year of marriage.


Twelve Days of Ichigo and Orihime

_'On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…'_

It had been a long day at work. The holiday season was here and all the crazies were out and about in full force.

Why did people have to be such idiots when they celebrated sometimes? Ichigo could understand people wanting to have fun and maybe having a little something to drink in order to enhance the celebrating spirit. What he did not understand were those who drank so much that they became extremely rowdy and unmanageable so that the police had to be called and then someone was almost always sent to the hospital. How did that sound like a good time?

Just today at the hospital Ichigo had treated three people with varying degrees of burns because they thought it might be cool and funny to deep fry a turkey…after they had each consumed almost a half a case of beer each. The end result was that their brains had been too slow to process that maybe they should step away from the fryer after they unceremoniously dumped the turkey into it so as not to get splashed by the scalding hot oil.

Finally, Ichigo arrived home and trudged up the steps towards the front door. He methodically kicked the majority of snow from his shoes before opening the door and stepping inside.

"I'm ho-"

"Welcome home Darling!"

"Oof!"

Thunk.

"I'm so sorry Ichigo! Are you all right? That was a very stupid thing for me to do when you just got home and are probably so tired after work today and I was so thoughtless and selfish just now and I'm sorry but I was just so excited to see you af-mmph!"

Despite the fact that his backside was rather sore, Ichigo couldn't think of a time when someone leaping into his arms and knocking him onto the floor had lifted his spirits so much. After a long day of dealing with stupid people, it was a nice change of pace to have someone so excited to see him that they literally jumped for joy at the sight of him.

Ichigo had never been great with words, so he tried to convey just how much he loved Orihime's enthusiastic greeting by kissing her just as unreservedly.

_'On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me…'_

"We need to get a tree and we need to get decorations and we need to bake cookies and we need to go shopping for presents and we need to get wrapping paper and ribbon and tags and tinsel for the gifts and we need to make sure we know ahead of time what we want to eat on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so that we can make a grocery list and…and…and…oh isn't Christmas time just the most wonderful time of the year!"

Orihime could hardly contain just how excited she was about this upcoming season. In the past few years since she had been dating Ichigo and then just this past year married him, this time of year had become even more exciting as she now had an actual family to spend the holidays with. While Tatsuki and a lot of her friends from school would ask her to hang out with them in the days leading up to Christmas, Orihime had always refused to go to any of their family celebrations. Now she could celebrate with the Kurosaki family and not feel awkward about being a part of their family festivities. In fact, in some ways she thought she would have to force Ichigo to spend time with his family, especially his father.

Right now, however, she was sitting at the kitchen table with a notepad and pen writing down all the things she desperately wanted to accomplish in the next few weeks before Christmas. Ichigo sat across from Orihime with his chin resting on his palm as he gave her a small grin.

In answer to her outburst of joy, Ichigo's grin grew a little more as he asked, "So what would you like to do first?"

Looking down at her list, Orihime said slowly, "I don't know…we could do the shopping first…or maybe it would be better to buy the decorations…or maybe we should bake the cookies and freeze them…"

Raising her gaze, Orihime looked at Ichigo imploringly and asked, "What do you think?"

Leaning forward and reaching out to turn the pad of paper towards him, Ichigo looked over the list and said, "Well…from the looks of it I would say our two biggest money concerns are going to be the presents and the decorations. If we start looking now, we might be able to find some better deals on stuff than if we wait 'til the last minute."

"But which one should we do first?"

Looking up at Orihime and grinning, Ichigo said, "We can do both at the same time. Do you have any ideas of things you might like to get?"

Shaking her head, Orihime said with a small frown, "No, not really."

Standing up and walking around the table to collect the notepad and his wife, Ichigo held out his hand to Orihime and said, "Well then, we'll just mosey around and see what we find."

Taking his hand and standing up, Orihime asked, "You mean we're going to walk around with no plan or idea of where we're going or what we're shopping for?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Ichigo said carelessly, "Eh, plans are overrated. We'll just wing it."

Orihime smiled up at him and said, "Sounds like fun."

_'On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me…'_

"Ichigo! Have you seen my boots? I can't seem to find them anywhere!"

He could hear Orihime dashing around the house and riffling through every single nook and cranny of the house in her desperate search.

With a small smirk stretching his lips, Ichigo called up the stairs, "Why are you looking for your boots, Orihime?"

"Because there's snow on the driveway and it needs to be shoveled before it turns to ice!"

Nodding his head and trying to suppress his laughter, Ichigo said, "I see. Well that makes sense. Where did you last see your boots?"

There was a particularly loud thump and Orihime moaned slightly before she replied, "Oh, they're not here either. Um, I'm not sure where I put them last, but I need to find them quickly!"

Deciding that he should probably check on his wife, Ichigo made his way to the stairs and went up to be met with the sight of Orihime throwing sets of sheets, towels, pillowcases and other linens across the hallway. The object that had made the loud 'thump' was a case containing Ichigo's hair grooming kit (he preferred to cut his own hair as the barbers just wouldn't leave him alone about how weird his hair looked).

Trying not to chuckle at the sight Orihime made as she frantically dug through a bunch of beach towels, Ichigo asked, "Orihime, are you sure that you're going to find your winter boots in there?"

Looking up at her husband with a look of hopelessness, Orihime said quickly, "Well, when one has already checked in the places something is supposed to be then one has to move on to the most unlikely places next. It seems like the little blue men are being especially tricky this time around, but if I lose heart in the search then they'll never let me find my boots again and keep them in the darkest corners of the closets and never let the boots feel the happy crunch of snow and ice underneath them ever again!"

With that exclamation, Orihime dove back into the closet and began tossing out more towels. Ichigo smiled at the sight, but figured that the joke had gone on long enough, so he went and knelt next to Orihime and stilled her hands with his.

When she looked over at Ichigo in confusion, Ichigo asked, "Orihime, what do your boots look like?"

Thinking for a moment, Orihime answered, "They're bright yellow with pretty pink flowers on them."

Shaking his head, Ichigo said, "Orihime, those are your rain boots and they are safely tucked away in the basement because they are really useless during the winter. Your winter boots are the ones I bought you last year and they are purple."

Orihime blinked a few times before understanding filled her eyes and she said, "Oh…that's right."

_'On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…'_

"So Orihime, what kinds of Christmas cookies would you like to make?"

"Hmmm…they all look so good…ummm…these ones look fun and pretty easy too…and maybe these ones, these ones and these ones."

Yuzu looked at the ones Orihime had pointed to in the recipe book and nodded as she said, "Those do look quite yummy," before she looked at Orihime and asked, "Are there any 'special' cookies you would like to make as well just for us?"

Orihime gave Yuzu a small smile as she said, "Well…in the past I would make some peanut butter raisin cookies and also strawberry cream cheese ones with little pieces of peppermint in them."

Returning Orihime's smile, Yuzu said pleasantly, "We can make those as well. I'll just double check to make sure I have all the ingredients we need before we start."

A few hours later, Isshin, Karin and Ichigo entered the kitchen to see most of the cookies cooling on racks.

In his usual highly enthusiastic manner, Isshin clasped his hands and said in rapturous tones, "Oh, look at my two daughters becoming Christmas cookie elves! These look positively delectable."

Yuzu gave her father a smile as did Orihime only with a slight blush in her cheeks.

Karin stepped up to examine the cookies and said, "These do look good. Can I have one?"

Orihime nodded and said, "Of course! That's what they're there for."

This sent Isshin into more euphoric speeches as he flitted about trying to choose which cookie he would like to sample. For his part, Ichigo had already seen the cookie he wanted and so walked over, picked it up and went to stand behind it's lovely inventor/baker.

Leaning forward to whisper in Orihime's ear he said, "Mmmm…peanut butter raisin. How did you know I was craving these?"

Orihime's smile was positively radiant as she turned and gave Ichigo a loving kiss on the cheek.

_'On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…'_

"Take that you overgrown pincushion!"

The Hollow evaporated into dust and then oblivion just moments before Ichigo touched down on solid ground. He didn't have much time to gloat over his victory as he quickly had to turn and deal with yet another Hollow that had been trying to give Ichigo the slip. A few minutes later, the last one had been defeated and now Ichigo could go on and try to locate his body once again.

After his soul had reentered his body, Ichigo checked his watch and sighed. He still had a little time to quickly head over to the diner, grab a bite to eat and get back to work before his lunch break was over.

The rest of the afternoon went by at a meandering pace, which made Ichigo rather irritable as he was ready to go home. Hollow activity had been somewhat sporadic of late, but whenever he had to quickly rush out of work in order to deal with a group of them he always felt somewhat anxious afterwards to get back home and make sure Orihime was all right. While he knew she could take care of herself, his protective nature was still never satisfied until he saw with his own eyes that she was unharmed.

At one point, Ichigo flipped through his paperwork a little too quickly and gave himself a paper cut, which did nothing to improve his mood that moment. However, within a few minutes, the small, stinging wound was completely forgotten as he had to help people who had far bigger cuts, bruises and such that he needed to treat.

Finally, the time came when he could pack up his things and rush out of the hospital, jump in his car and put the pedal to the metal. It didn't take long before he was pulling into his garage and making his way inside the house. The scent of dinner cooking wafted past his nostrils and Ichigo could feel his mouth begin to water and his stomach start to rumble as a result.

"I'm home," Ichigo said as he began taking off his boots.

Orihime's voice drifted from the kitchen as she called back, "Welcome home! I'm in the kitchen!"

Making his way to the kitchen, Ichigo found his wife at the stove cooking vegetables in a pan. He made his way to a set of stools situated by the counter, took a seat and then watched his wife contentedly fixing dinner.

Turning and smiling at Ichigo, Orihime said, "Dinner should be ready in about an hour. If you're hungry now there's some cheese and sausage in the fridge."

Propping his elbows on the counter and resting his chin on his palm, Ichigo said, "I can wait. It smells deli-"

"Ichigo, what happened to your hand?"

Blinking and lifting his head in surprise, Ichigo asked, "What are you talking about?"

Turning down the heat on the stovetop, Orihime quickly wiped her hands on her apron as she walked around the counter to stand next to Ichigo as she said, "Let me see your hand."

Without protest or more questions, Ichigo held out both his hands and Orihime gently took his left hand between both of hers. Looking down, Ichigo realized that she had been referring to the paper cut he had gotten earlier that day.

Giving her husband a slightly reproachful look, Orihime asked sternly, "And how did you come by this wound?"

Ichigo's response was to mumble incoherently to which Orihime replied, "Well, this needs to be treated right away. I'm surprised that with you being a doctor and all that you didn't think to tend to this sooner. Honestly, sometimes I don't know what would become of you if you were left to your own devices."

As she walked away to get the first aid kit, Ichigo shook his head in amusement. All day he had been dealing with patients to try and cure them of different sicknesses, wounds and diseases which made his own cut seem positively insignificant in comparison. However, to Orihime, no wound was too small or trivial to go unnoticed and untreated. All it had taken was one look and she had seen the small cut on his hand.

That was one thing Ichigo loved so much about Orihime. Her compassionate heart and desire to heal others allowed her to see and care about the pain and suffering of others and to treat all wounds with the same care no matter the size.

The moment she reentered the room with the kit and got within arm's reach of Ichigo, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulled her to his chest and said in her ear, "In answer to what you said earlier, I don't know what would become of me if I didn't have you here either."

_'On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…'_

"Oh dear…I was told that this was supposed to make shopping easier, but now I'm not so sure."

Sitting in front of the computer screen and browsing through page after page of all sorts of merchandise, Orihime was beginning to wonder if shopping for gifts over the internet was really as easy and stress-free as the companies were advertising it was supposed to be. After having spent a good portion of the past two hours scouring the internet looking for the perfect gifts for Ichigo, Tatsuki, Isshin, Yuzu and Karin and finding a grand total of one possible item that she might want to buy, Orihime was about ready to throw in the towel.

On the other hand, Orihime wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to have to try and deal with the hassle of fighting the Christmas frenzied crowds that were sure to be packing the stores at this point. While the store sound systems would be playing songs where the artists sang about 'peace on earth' and 'good will towards men' and 'the joy of Christmas', the customers and sometimes employees would be highly irritable and frazzled and easily excitable.

She was so intent on her task that she did not hear the door open and a voice call out to alert her that they had arrived home. It wasn't until she heard footsteps making their way down the hallway towards the den that she realized that Ichigo was home.

His voice called out, "Orihime! Where are you?"

At his words, Orihime looked back at the computer screen and thought that she didn't want Ichigo walking in on her 'shopping trip' and possibly figure out what she was going to get him for Christmas. This caused her to jump into action and try to close down the browser, but as usually happens when someone is in a panic, things spiral out of control.

As she tried to force her hand to stop shaking and moving the mouse all over the place, Orihime called to her husband, "I'm in here Ichigo! I'll be out in just a minute!"

"What are you doing Orihime?"

Knocking over a container filled with pens and a box of paper clips, Orihime cried, "Nothing! Not a thing! I'm not doing anything!"

Finally managing to close the browser, Orihime tried to jump out of the chair and begin cleaning up the desk, but instead got her feet caught and went crashing to the floor.

Ichigo walked into the den to find his wife sprawled on the floor with office supplies strewn around her and all he could do for a few moments is just stare before he looked up at the computer and back at Orihime and said with a smirk, "Well, well, well. I never would have thought you were capable of such a thing, Orihime."

Orihime couldn't find the words to say right away as she felt the blush rushing to her face and then she waved her arms and cried, "It's not like that!"

_'On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me…'_

"What is your favorite Christmas tradition?"

Ichigo looked up from the book he was reading, thought for a moment before he said, "I suppose the tradition my mom came up with where each of us made or bought an ornament for someone else in the family and then exchanged them on Christmas Eve. The ornament would have to commemorate something significant that had happened that year. What about you?"

Orihime smiled as she said, "I'd have to say the one Sora and I did where we would find a restaurant that we had never eaten at before in the phone book and then go and try it the day before Christmas Eve."

Returning Orihime's smile, Ichigo said, "That sounds interesting. Maybe we can do both this year and then see what else we can do so we can have our own traditions."

Clapping her hands, Orihime said, "That sounds wonderful! Mixing old and beloved traditions while coming up with new ones on our own! I love that idea!"

_'On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…'_

"City sidewalks, busy sidewalks dressed in holiday styles…in the air there's a feeling of Christmas…children laughing, people passing meeting smile after smile…and on every street corner you hear…"

As she heard the bell ringing outside the store she was shopping in, Orihime couldn't help but sing the song 'Silver Bells' softly to herself. She had to admire those brave, generous and kind souls who volunteered to stand outside for hours in the cold weather in order to ring a bell and raise money for the less fortunate. One of these years she would have to talk to Ichigo and volunteer both of them to be bell ringers at one of the stores.

After she made her purchases, Orihime walked outside and put her extra change plus a few extra dollars into the bucket to which the bell ringer smiled at her and said, "Have a Merry Christmas!"

Returning the smile, Orihime said kindly, "And you as well."

When she got back home, Ichigo was sitting in the living room and got up to greet his wife with a warm hug and a tender kiss.

Pulling away, Orihime said, "Well, looks like I was repaid in kind."

Ichigo's brows knitted in confusion as he asked, "What?"

Smiling and pulling him down for another kiss, Orihime said, "Oh, it's nothing."

Christmas is a season when giving a gift can feel just as good as receiving one. Also, sometimes the best gifts are not just ones that can be placed in a box and wrapped up with a bow. They are ones that are given from the heart.

_'On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…'_

The wind whipped around Orihime's face and hair, but she paid little heed to such matters. Her project was nearing completion and it was looking pretty good. It had been quite some time since she had done something like this and even now she knew that this was something that only little kids would ever think of doing, but the memory had stuck out and would not leave her alone until she finally came out here.

Sitting back on her feet, Orihime scanned over her work with a satisfied grin on her face. A couple more minutes and she would finish up the last one before Ichigo-

"Orihime! What's all this?"

Too late.

Turning to face her husband, Orihime said with a smile, "These are snow bunnies! Aren't they cute?"

Looking around at the front yard, Ichigo asked, "Why are there so many of them?"

Smiling around at her handiwork, Orihime answered, "Well, I used to do this when I was younger and I made one snow bunny for Sora and one for me. Then when he passed away, I didn't make them anymore, but today I decided to do it again."

Pointing to the two bunnies in the front, Orihime said, "I started with you and then I did me and then I thought that maybe I should make one for Tatsuki so I decided to make one of Chad standing next to her, then I couldn't just leave Uryu out and then I remembered about your family so there's one of Papa Isshin, Karin and there's Yuzu while over there I decided to make ones of Rukia and Renji standing side by side with Byakuya standing behind them and Rangiku is over there right next to Toshiro with Momo standing next to him and then there's Kenpachi with Yachiru hanging on behind him and…"

Her voice trailed off as she turned to look at Ichigo with tears in her eyes and said, "I'm surrounded by so many people. Back then, I only had Sora and when I lost him I didn't think I could love anyone as much as I loved him, but now there are so many people I love that I'm not sure how they can all fit in my heart."

Kneeling down and taking Orihime into his arms, Ichigo said, "You can fit them all and more because you have the biggest heart I've ever seen."

Returning Ichigo's hug, Orihime said softly, "Sora has the second biggest place in my heart."

"And who's in the biggest place?"

Orihime kissed his cheek and said, "You."

Pulling back to give Orihime a smile and place his forehead against hers, he said, "And you've succeeded in making a home in the biggest part of my heart as well."

'_On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…'_

Looking out at the storm raging outside, Orihime was reminded of the lyrics to the song 'Let It Snow' where it talked about the weather being frightful but the fire being delightful and because the couple had nowhere else to go they could just stay inside, cuddled together and wait for the storm to pass.

However, for Orihime, she didn't feel the least bit calm or safe because Ichigo had yet to get off of work and the storm was only gaining in ferocity as time went on. Her heart dropped into her stomach when she thought about Ichigo trying to make his way home in this tempest. While part of her wanted him to be able to make it home so that she could snuggle safely in his arms, the bigger part of her wished he wouldn't try and brave the storm. If she knew Ichigo though, she had a funny feeling that her husband would go by the saying 'Come hell or high water'.

Orihime had always had a very inventive and active imagination and right now it was going at top speed envisioning countless different scenarios in which Ichigo attempts to make his way back home and always fails. Some of them were quite creative in the way Ichigo met with his ultimate demise which included one where Ichigo was swerving out of the path of a mother carrying her baby before crashing into a building, somehow driving the car into the elevator shaft and then having the car blow up as it plummeted towards the basement of the building.

She was suddenly snapped back to reality when she heard the phone ring. Racing to the phone, Orihime picked it up and was half-relieved half-apprehensive when she saw the caller id displaying Ichigo's cell phone number.

Hitting the talk button, Orihime held the phone to her ear and said in the most cheerful voice she could muster, "Hello Ichigo!"

Ichigo's voice replied with a low chuckle in his voice, "Hey Orihime. How are you?"

Waving her free hand in the air, Orihime said, "Oh, I'm fine. I've been keeping myself busy straightening up the house and doing other odd jobs like the laundry and organizing the pantry and planning what to have for dinner and things like that."

Ichigo let out another chuckle as he said, "Well, sounds like you've been busy. What's for dinner? No, wait. I want to guess. Is it…"

Orihime felt like a hand had reached inside her throat and was beginning to squeeze because she couldn't utter a single sound. She had been right. Ichigo was going to try and brave the storm despite the possible hidden dangers.

For a few moments, Ichigo had gone on and listed a few possibilities of what Orihime might be planning for their dinner, but then he said abruptly, "Orihime, what's wrong?"

Swallowing a few times to try and open her airway a little more, Orihime said in a cracked voice, "Nothing's wrong!"

There was a pause on the other end of the line before Ichigo said firmly, "Orihime…"

At Ichigo's tone, Orihime suddenly couldn't stop the words from exiting her mouth.

"It's not that I don't want you to come home, I do Ichigo, but there's a huge storm outside and it's only getting worse and I'm watching the news telling about how people are flipping their cars or getting into horrible accidents and all I keep thinking about is you trying to drive home in all this madness and just getting yourself hurt or possibly even…" but she couldn't go on as the invisible hand clenched itself around her throat even tighter this time.

Another pause on Ichigo's end before he said slowly, "So basically you don't want me to come home, is that it?"

Shaking her head vigorously, Orihime managed to say, "Oh no, no, no. I just want you to wait a little until the storm dies down a bit."

Ichigo sighed heavily as he said, "I wish you would have told me this earlier."

Orihime's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion as she asked, "What do you mean?"

Something about his voice was different as Ichigo replied, "If I had known earlier that you were afraid of me trying to brave this storm…"

A pair of arms wrapped themselves around her torso and Ichigo's voice sounded right next to her ear saying, "…I guess I would have stayed at work longer."

Dropping the phone and turning as fast as she could, Orihime found herself looking into the highly amused eyes of her husband.

Pounding her fists against his chest, Orihime cried, "You're impossible! You're incorrigible!"

Ichigo grinned down at Orihime as he said softly, "I'm home."

Calming down, Orihime wrapped her arms tightly around Ichigo's chest and felt his arms wrap around her more securely in return. Now the storms outside and within herself had lost their fury.

"Welcome home Ichigo."

_'On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me…'_

"Stupid lights! They keep getting tangled! Whose idea was it to put these up again?"

Poking her head in the doorway, Orihime had to stop for a moment to keep herself from laughing at the sight of Ichigo pulling and yanking at the strings of lights that had somehow managed to wrap themselves all over his body. Patience had never been one of Ichigo's strong points and when it came to dealing with lights Orihime could see that such a character quality was necessary in order for that person to retain their sanity.

Walking over, Orihime said gently, "Here. Let me see if I can help."

Still grumbling and fuming, Ichigo nonetheless stood without moving and allowed Orihime to slowly disentangle him from the troublesome strands of tiny lights. Finally, Orihime pulled away the last one and Ichigo was freed.

Stepping away, Orihime said cheerfully, "There we go."

Giving Orihime a small smile, Ichigo replied, "Thanks Orihime."

Standing on tip-toe, Orihime kissed his cheek and said, "My pleasure," before turning and making her way back to the other room to finish decorating in there.

A few minutes later Orihime heard Ichigo bellow furiously, "These stupid lights! Half of them are blinking!"

Orihime shook her head and smiled as she went back to the other room in order to prevent her irate spouse from doing something rash…like ripping the strands of lights apart and throwing them out the window.

_'On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…'_

Ichigo was surprised. It was Christmas morning and he had expected his wife to be up at the crack of dawn bounding out of bed and crying excitedly about how it was time to open presents. However, it was now close to eight o'clock and Orihime had yet to stir.

So now he was faced with two choices: was he going to wake her up or would he let her sleep? Tough choice since both provided him with a good amount of amusement.

Leaning forward, Ichigo began to gently brush away the hair that had fallen in front of Orihime's sleeping features. Once he had done that, with the very tips of his fingers Ichigo began to trace across the contours of her face from her pert nose to her arching cheekbones to her elegant eyebrows to her lightly pulsing temple to her slightly parted lips and finally to her smooth chin.

An idea suddenly coming to him, Ichigo ever so gently placed pressure on Orihime's chin and he smirked with satisfaction when Orihime's head turned ever so slightly towards him. Little bit by little bit Ichigo coaxed Orihime to turn her head until he could finally lower his head and brush his lips on the very same places his fingers had explored.

At this point, Orihime began to stir and so Ichigo planted his lips softly on Orihime's for a few moments before deepening the kiss. Orihime's sleepy groan was morphed into a surprised yet highly pleased sigh as she woke up and returned Ichigo's kiss.

After a time Ichigo pulled away and grinned down as Orihime's eyes opened sleepily and said, "Good morning."

Stretching and returning Ichigo's smile, Orihime said, "Good morning."

Reaching out to stroke Orihime's hair again, Ichigo said, "Looks like I got my first present of the day."

Yawning, Orihime sat up and then looked at Ichigo in confusion as she asked, "What do you mean?"

Ichigo chuckled before leaning in to give Orihime another kiss and said, "Merry Christmas, sleepyhead."

A few moments passed before Orihime's eyes began to sparkle with delight as she wrapped her arms around Ichigo's neck and said, "Merry Christmas, Darling."

In a few years, when there were younger Kurosakis running around the house, the excitement of opening presents would be a bigger affair, but for the time being with just the two of them they both felt that they had all the time in the world to just relax and enjoy each other's company before going downstairs and unwrapping their gifts.

**Author's Note:**

So, this is for the Ichihime-Fans Christmas carol thing (over on deviantart) and I chose the song 'The Twelve Days of Christmas'. I know it's not exactly like the song since I just chose twelve random themes and wrote little snippets about things that could occur in Ichigo and Orihime's married life during the Christmas season.

Just an fyi, once again for anyone who likes for their stories about Bleach to be 'authentic', this is what is known as fanfiction and it is completely within the author's capability to add in or take away elements based upon their usefulness to the story. So if there are things in here that are not strict Japanese traditions, that's fine because that is not really what I was going for. I was playing with elements and adding things to the story that I am familiar with and that I thought would be amusing to my readers. If you didn't think so, that's perfectly fine. My stories are meant to entertain and if this was not 'your cup of tea' I'm sure there are plenty of other stories out there which would be better suited to your taste.

Hope you enjoy it since I certainly had fun writing this!

Have a very Merry Christmas!


End file.
